Nice looking radio Matt, I haven't heard of it before. Does it do 446 out of the box or did it need modding. I wish I could find a mod for my FT991a as the only way at present to have TX on 446 is to set the frequency/power/squelch etc., turn off then hold 3 buttons in & switch on.

Sputnik in the loft worked well before, I wonder if the 'tinkering' will allow me to hear you in Brighton.

The vna screenshot is beyond me, but well done for all your efforts.

Tony
ps. Lets hope Johnny 5's does as well.

As a few of you know i recently fell in love with my NanoVNA, now after much tinkering i think i have my PMR antenna to a very happy place for my home base setup.  So i thought i do a lil run down of what i am using

My Radio is a Yaesu FTM-3207D



My antenna is a home made 1/4 wave Vertical "sputnik"
(connected to radio with RG8 cable 11m in length to the loft of the house. giving it a mere 37m above sea level)



and this is the VNA sweep form 446Mhz to 446.3Mhz.



Before the new cable and Antenna i was barely getting Nigel (the camper-van man) from his home base at S2/R4  Now its an easy S5-6/R5. looking forward to the nett kicking off again so i can have a good listern of some people in different areas.

I think there is still a few tiny adjustments i could make but for now i am very happy.
 Matt

This net is on 27.285MHz USB from 10 - 11.30am.
If you wish to listen in but can't transmit or hear anything on your radio below are a few Web SDR's that should pick up James & many callers. (I say should because I have never tried).

http://kiwisdr1.hoka.co.uk:8073/
http://kiwisdr2.hoka.co.uk:8073/
http://kiwisdr3.hoka.co.uk:8073/
http://sdr.gb0snb.com:8073/

Well hello

A quick report of what happened on the 8th of January 2026

Being at a loose end and not letting Storm Goretti put me off, I choose to head up to Radio Corner, which is in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex and have a scan of 11m all modes.

I set up my Anytone AT 6666 powered by a car battery and Sirio 4000 stuck on the roof with a mag mount.

UKFM had the normal members of the 19 owners club on, and there were a couple of other QSO's on other channels.

On the pirate or "freeband" part triple 5 had some faint 26 division stations calling out for DX and up and down this part of the band the odd DX contact was being heard.

Then down on the CEPT/FFC part of 11m there were some continental stations on USB chatting and when I got to channel 39 (27.395 MHz) LSB, I heard 2 stations talking about the net and if it would be coming back.

I broke into the conversation, and confirmed that the net would be back at the end of the month.

Here is the list of stations that called in and were pleased to hear the net would be back.

CT 3969--Dave--Isle of Wight
CT 700--Dave--Crawley Down--West Sussex
MR 121--Matt--Copthorne--West Sussex
OP 525--Dennis--Mereworth--Kent
GE 167--Murphy--Eastbourne--East Sussex
WT 148--Tony--Eastbourne--East Sussex--Looking forward to hearing you on the net
DT 372--John--Pinner--Northwest London
NB 101--Dave--Edenbridge--Kent
JS 07--James--Rochester--Kent
XR 41--Jerry--Hailsham--East Sussex
FB 228--Martin H--Hellingly--East Sussex
and me
CI 2290--Ray--Ashdown Forest--East Sussex

Thank you all who checked the frequency to see if something was happening.
Thank you to SDR listing stations, you know who you are 😉😉)

Best 73

Ray 2290

This has now been approved on the App Store!

Hello and good day to you

Here is another, and last "Ray Reviews" of socialising at Radio Corner held on Monday 05-01-2026

BEFORE THE MONDAY NIGHT CHANNEL 14 PMR NET STARTS AGAIN ON THE 12TH OF JANUARY 2026

Lets do things a bit different.

Thank you all who came out and parked or perched on their favourite hill or high spot.
Thank you all who tuned in to get an update on when things will be getting back to normal on a Monday/Thursday night.
Thank you to the listening stations who know who they are.

The temperature was below freezing at 20:00 hours and had dropped to -4 degrees C by the time I went home.

I set up the battery powered CRT Space U and the "Dean" made dipole so I could listen to who was on channel 14 while I was chatting to who every came up to my window. This will mean that I may have missed you off my list, if this is the case let me know and I will add you.

Here is my list of who I heard.

TK 8 - George - Tonbridge - Kent 🥇
Ratty 248 - Chris - Ashdown Forest - East Sussex
Witchy Women - Vicky - Shotgun with Chris
CT 3466 - "Radar" Ray - Crowhurst - Surrey - Working a Handy
RHP 342 - Andy - Reigate Hill - Surrey
XR 41 - Jerry - Hailsham - East Sussex
Speed Bird - Russell - Reigate Hill - Surrey
C V M - Nigel - Crowborough - East Sussex
Lino - M23 near Gatwick Airport - West Sussex - Mobile
CT 5480 - Jonny 5 - Plumpton - East Sussex - Working a Handy and getting a cold hand holding the beam out of the window.
CT 5464 - Matt in the Garage - Hailsham - East Sussex
CT 4362 - Chris - Reigate Town - Surrey
CT 4515 - John - Ditchling Beacon - East Sussex
Tango 187 - Toby - Ashdown Forest - East Sussex - Working a Handy
RHP 285 - Steve - Reigate Hill - Surrey
CT 5140 - Jack - Ashdown Forest - East Sussex
CT 5147 - Paul - Ashdown Forest - East Sussex
CT 5365 - Des - Pembury - Kent
GM 593 - Graham - Rochester - Kent
and me
CT 2290 - Ray - Ashdown Forest - East Sussex - Enjoying the chat 🙂👍

Best 73

Ray

I have received my first POTA award of 2026!  

Calling all 2m radio operators, mark your diaries.
Here is an early opportunity to dust off your 2m portables and head outdoors for the first Parks on the Air (POTA) activity weekend of 2026.
The POTA Winter Support Weekend is happening Saturday & Sunday, January 17th to 18th 2026.
These seasonal POTA events are all about getting out into our beautiful parks, activating new locations, and most importantly having as much fun as possible on the air.
How to join in:
Activators: Register an account at the POTA website. Use the POTA Official Website to find a location near you and spot yourself so we can find you.
Chasers: Keep your ears peeled on the 2m calling frequencies and help those park stations clear their logs.
Share the adventure: Post your setup photos and signal reports right in the Parks on the Air United Kingdom Facebook group and 145 Alive